Phonograph



9 Shegts-Sheet l B. R. CARSON ET AL PHONOGRAPH Jan. 30, 1951 Original Filed July 28, 1939 B. R. CARSON ET AL Jan. 30, 1951 PHONOGRAPH 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 28, 1939 Gttorneg Jan. 30, 1951 B. R. CARSON ETAL PHONOGRAPH 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed July 28, 1939 3 n xtors fifNJA/W/A/ A2 6/9430 Q AIVUT 7f/W/96/W/550/V 8Q r (Inorneg Jan. 30, 1951 B. R. CARSON ETAL PHONOGRAPH 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed July 28, 1939 lnnentors BEAU/9M1 A2 60/?50/1/ Kmww J. MAW/V0550 (lttorneg Jan. 30, 1951 B. R. CARSON ETAL PHONOGRAPH Original Filed July 28, 1939 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 30, 1951 B. R. CARSON AL PHONOGRAPH 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed July 28, 1939 III' 3nnentor5 N w z a M 6 A @w MW 5% Jan. 30, 1951 B. R. CARSON EIAL PHONOGRAPH 9 sh'eet-sheet 7 Original Filed July 28, 1939 Kr AKA/07' J //4767T/VU550/V Jan. 30, 1951 B. R. CARSON ET AL PHONOGRAPH 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Original Filed July 28, 1939 Jan. 30, 1951 B. R. CARSON ET AL PHONOGRAPH 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original Filed July 28, 1939 Patented Jan. 30, 1951 PHONOGRAPH Benjamin E. Carson, Haddonfield, and Knut J. Magnusson, Princeton, N. 3., assignors to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Original application July 28, 1939, Serial No. 286,988. Divided and this application February 21, 1945, Serial No. 579,000

2 Claims.

This invention relates to phonographs, and more particularly to an automatic phonograph of the type wherein a, plurality of records are supported above the turntable to be successively lowered onto the turntable for playing, the present invention being an improvement upon that disclosed and claimed in the Carson patent, No. 2,280,685, granted on April 21, 1942, and the present application being a division of our copending application Serial No. 286,988, filed July 28, 1939, now Patent Number 2,412,441, issued December 10, 1946.

In the aforesaid patent, there is disclosed an automatic phonograph of the type mentioned above wherein records of only one size can be played automatically. To play records of a larger size, it is necessary to make certain adjustments of the apparatus, and even then, the larger records can only be played manually.

The primary object of our present invention is to provide an improved phonograph of the type specified which ma be operated automatically to reproduce a plurality of records of either small diameter, or of large diameter, or of mixed diameters arranged at random in the stack, the ma.- chine to play the entire stack of records without interruption and without attention on the part of the user after having once been set into operation.

More particularly, it is an object of our present invention to provide an improved automatic phonograph as aforesaid which will incorporate means for effecting the release and transfer of each successive lowermost record of the stack to the turntable regardless of the diameter of the record.

Another object of our present invention is to provide an improved phonograph as aforesaid, which, when arranged to play records of mixed diameters indiscriminately, will operate to accuratel locate the sound reproducing instrumentality at the starting point of each new record regardless of its diameter.

It is also an object of our present invention to i provide an improved phonograph as aforesaid provide an improved phonograph of the type described which is very compact, extremely accurate and efficient in operation, which comprises a minimum number of parts, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

In accordance with our present invention, we provide a pair of rotatable record supporting posts at diametrically opposite points relative to the turntable, the posts extending upwardly from a suitable supporting plate and being spaced apart a distance sufficient to accommodate 12" records. The records are supported in a vertically extending stack upon shelves extending toward each other from the posts a distance sufficient to accommodate 10" records. Thus, regardless of whether the lowermost record is a 10 record or a 12" record, the shelves will be able to support the entire stack.

Overlying the supporting shelves on each of the posts are record separating members also carried by the posts and provided with knife edges which are adapted to enter between the lowermost record of the stack and the next highest one as the posts are rotated. These separating members support the remaining records of the I stack while the lowermost one is permitted to drop onto the turntable after the posts have rotated through an angle sufficient to enable the record supporting shelves to clear the lowermost record.

It is well known that 12" records are somewhat thicker than 10 records, and also that records of a given diameter are not absolutel uniform in thickness. Accordingly, it is necessary to make the record separating members adjustable so that they can be accommodated to records of different thicknesses while the posts rotate. This is accomplishedaccording to our invention, b making the record separating members adjustable toward and away from the supporting shelves and by controlling the adjustment in two ways. In the first adjustment, should the knife edges of the separators strike the edge of a record, the posts will, as they begin to rotate at the proper point in the automatic cycle, effect a slight camming action on the record separators to raise them slightl with respect to the record supporting shelves until the knife edges on the separators have reached the plane of contact between the two lowermost records, whereupon the knife edges are free to be wedged in between the records and thus separate them. The other adjustment is accomplished by means extending through the record supporting shelves which are engaged by 12" records but not by 10 records, the engagement of the last named means by the 3 larger records serving to effect a substantial raising of the separator members relative to the shelves sufilcient to accommodate the knives on the separators to the plane between the lowermost 12" record and the record next above it.

To insure properly locating the sound reproducing instrumentality at the beginning of each record lowered onto the turntable, there is provided a control lever or post which is pivotally mounted adjacent to one of the aforesaid record supporting posts. The needle locating mecha nism is normally arranged to cause the sound reproducing instrumentality to land in the starting position, but is under control of the aforesaid pivoted lever. Normally, this lever is in a position such that his :clear of the edge of a 10 record as the record drops down onto the turntable. However, the lever has a cam thereon which lies in the path of movement of a 12 record and which is engaged by the edge of the larger record as it drops down'onto the turntable. -This cams the .lever to a position 'where it-controls the return of the sound reproducing instrumentality to the 12" position. In this way, the proper starting point of the needle for each successive record is properly determined. 'If desired, the mechanism mayalso beprovided with means for presetting the 12 landing position of'the needle so that, when only 12" records are played, the aforesaid pivoted lever and the mechanism controlled thereby need not be availed of to insure the proper landing of the needle on the larger records.

The "novel features that we consider characteristic of our invention are'set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The inventiori itself, however, both as to its organization andmethod of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the phonograph being shown in outline for the sake of clearness,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the 'plane of the line 11-11 in Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the appended arrows, the portions of the phonograph which are shown'in outline in Fig. 1 being here shown in full lines to more clearly indicate the relation of the various parts, and certain of the parts of Fig. 1 being omitted for the sake of clearness,

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. -1, but showing the position of the parts immediately after the record changing portion of the automatic cycle has been initiated,

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the position of the parts at the time when a new 10" record is released from the stack to permit it to drop onto the turntable,

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the position of the parts approximately'half way'through the record changing cycle,

Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the position of the parts when af1'2" record is released from the stack for dropping 'onto the turntable,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig.

'1, but showing the position of the parts at the start of a12" record, 7

Figure '8 is a fragmentary-detail view showing the position of certainparts when the mechanism is set for manual operation,

Figure 9 is a similar view, but showing the position of the parts when they have been moved to reject position,

Figure 10 is an enlarged view showing, in a vertical section, the details of the mechanism for controlling the landing position of the needle with'the parts in the 10 landing position,

Figure 11 is a similar view, but with the parts in the 12" landing position,

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line XII C[I in Fig. 1, certain of the parts of Fig. 1 being omitted for the sake of clearness,

Figure 13 is an enlarged plan view of the record supporting post appearing in the lower, left hand corner of Fig. 1 showing, in detail, the record supporting shelf and parts carried thereby,

Figure 14 is a sectional view taken on the line X1V-XIV of Figure 13 and viewed in the direction of the appended arrows, and

Figure 15 is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken on the line XVXV of Figure 13 andviewed in the direction of the appended arrows.

Referring more particularly .to :the drawings, wherein .similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout, we have shown a motor board I or the like .to'which is secured a motor plate 3 carrying a motor 5 which, through flexible coupling l, drives a turntable spindle e carriedby a second-plate i l. The coupling 1 is preferably of the type fully disclosed and claimed in the Carson Patent No. 2,247,651, granted July 1, 1941. The spindle '9 supports and drives a horizontally disposed turntable 13 upon which a plurality of records R accumulate in manner hereinafter more particularly set forth so that each can be reproduced in'succession.

Fixed to the spindle 9 is a gear l5 which continuously drives a, gear ii, the latter gear acting as a control device for effecting operation of the parts to carry out a cycle of automatic operations, the gear i i being rotatablyzmounted onthe plate fl and supporting a cam member-l9 on the underside thereof. The cam member l9-is somewhat oval shaped and is provided :with a downwardly extending peripheral flange 2| formed with an opening -23 therein fora purpose hereinafter more fully described. Within the space defined by the flange 2i is a cam pl-ate 25 having a portion 25a extend-ing through the opening 23 and being formed to provide a .cam track 2'5 between its periphery and the flange 2|. The control cam i9 and its cam plate 25 are fixed relative to each otherand are also fixed to the control gear ll so that they will all rotate in unison and so that the flange 21 and the periphery of the cam plate 25 will function as cams relative to the axis of rotation of the control gear l1.

Pivoted to the plate H on a post 29 is an actuating member 3! comprising a lever having four lateral extensions 3la, 3lb, tile "and '3l'd, .as well as two oppositely extending arms Bleeand 3| f. A roller 33 is mounted on the arm 3Ia'for cooperation, as a cam follower, with the cam track 27 whereby the cam member |91and its cam plate 25 are adapted to impart rotation to At'the appropriate point in the automatic cycle, the

roller 33 is caused to enter into the cam track 21 through the opening :23 to the :right of the extenlying on the other side of the pivot 29.

sound reproducing translating device 63 thereon which carries a sion (Fig. i), and during the first half or the cycle, the cam flange 2| is efiective to cause counter-clockwise movement of the actuating lever 3|. When, however, the roller 33 has reached the position shown in Fig. 5, the cam plate 25 then takes up the work and the righthand side of its periphery, as viewed in Fig. 5, acts upon the roller 33 to thereafter return the actuating lever 3| in a clockwise direction to its normal position. The actuating lever 3| is then held in its rest position by means of a coil spring 35 which surrounds a toggle member 31 slotted at its ends. One of the slotted ends of the toggle member 31 is received in a groove on a post 39 which is fixed to the plate I I, and the other end thereof is received in the groove of a second post 4| carried by the arm 31a of the actuating lever, the spring 35 acting between a pair of washers 43 which bear against the posts 39 and 4|. When the actuating lever 3| is in its rest position, the posts 39 and 4| lie on a straight line to one side of the pivot point 29 of the actuating lever 3|, whereby the spring 35 is effective, as an overcenter spring, to insure holding the actuating lever in its normal position. At this time, also, the spring 35 is compressed. During the first half of the record changing cycle (that is, while the actuating lever 3| moves from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fig. 5), the post 4| has moved to a position such that the straight line joining the posts 39 and 4| lies on 'the other side of the pivot 29, and the spring 35 has gradually expanded to assist moving the actuating lever 3| counter-clockwise. At the same time, it insures contact of the roller 33 with the cam plate 25 during the last half of the cycle because the toggle member 31 is now on a line A rubber block 45 fixed to the plate I! is engaged by the post 4| when the actuating lever 3| has returned to rest position and takes up the shock of the lever 3 Pivoted to the under side of the plate H on a post 4'! is a cable lever 49 having an offset portion which receives an eye bolt 5| to which one end of a coil spring 53 is secured. A cable 55, having one end thereof secured to the other end of the spring 53, passes around a guide roller or pulley 51 mounted on a bracket 59 and through an opening in the plate I I, being secured at its other end to a pickup arm or the like support 6| having a instrumentality or sound reproducing needle 65.

. The cable lever 49 is provided with a cam edge 49a which first has a short, rapid rise with respect to the pivot 41 to approximately the point A (Fig. 1) and thereafter continues along an are 50. Upstanding from the lever arm 3|a is a pin 61 which, during reproduction of a record, occupies a position spaced from the cam edge 49a, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

53 and the slack in the cable 55, and then to exert a pull on the pickup arm 6| to quickly raise the pickup 63 above the played record. By this i time, the actuating lever 3| has reached a position such that the are is concentric with the Z pivot post 29. Hence, no further counterclockwise movement of the cable lever 49 takes place as long as the pin 61 passes over the arced portion 5|] of the cam edge 49a, the pick-up arm 6| being held in raised position all this time.

The pickup arm BI is pivotally mounted on a supporting post 69 rotatably mounted in a bushing H on the plate I and extending through the bushing below the plate I I, the bushing H and the post 69 being inclined from the vertical about three degrees toward the turntable I3. Secured to the lower end of the post 69 is a collar 13 (see Fig. 12) from which extends an arm 15 connected by means of a link 11 to a plate 19 pivotally mounted on a post 8| which is secured to the plate The plate 19 has a downwardly extending pin 83 thereon which lies in the path of movement of the end of the arm 31d of the actuating lever 3 l. During the playing portion of a cycle (that is, while a record is being reproduced), the arm 3| d of the actuating lever is in the position shown in Fig. 1. However, immediately after the pickup 63 has been raised from the played record, as above described, continued movement of the actuating lever 3| in a counter-clockwise direction under the influence of the cam flange 2| brings the end of the lever arm 3|d into engagement with the pin 83 and causes the plate I9 to move clockwise about its pivot post 8|. This, in turn, causes the arm 15 to move counter-clockwise by reason of the pivoted link connection 11, whereby the pickup arm BI is moved counterclockwise to a position clear of the turntable and the record stack, as shown in Fig. 4, the pickup arm 6| being retained in elevated position all this time by reason of. the engagement of the pin 61 with the portion 59 of the cam edge 49a.

Pivotally mounted on a post 85 on the under side of the plate II is a pickup arm locating lever 37, the lever 81 being constantly biased in a clockwise direction by means of a coil spring 89 fixed at one end to a pin 9| on the lever 81 and at its other end to a pin 93 on the under side of the plate II. The purpose of the lever 81 is to determine the starting position of the needle 65 when the pickup arm BI is subsequently returned and lowered onto the next succeeding record for playing.

Pivotally mounted on the lever 87 is a detent lever 95 which is constantly biased in a clockwise direction relative to the lever 9'? by means of a coil spring 9? having one end thereof around a pin 99 on the detent lever 95 and its other end around the pin |9| on the lever 87. The detent lever 95 is provided with a U-shaped notch H33 and an adjacent cam edge m5 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 6) and the notch I93 is so located thereon that, when the detent lever 95 is in the position shown in Fig. 3,, the left-hand edge of the notch we (as viewed) is spaced from the parallel edge of a toe 870 on the lever 8'! a distance sufiicient to accommodate, a downwardly extending pin iii? on the plate i9. Normally, that is, during playing of a record, the arm sic of the actuating lever 3| is in engagement with a pin We on the detent lever 95 to hold the detent lever in the position shown in Fig. 1. After the needle 55 has entered the record terminal groove and the actuating lever 3| begins its counter-clockwise movement, the arm 3|c gradually recedes from the pin 559 and the spring 9'! pulls the detent lever into the position shown in Fig. 3, at which time the pin it! stops further clockwise movement of the detent lever 95 with respect to the lever 87. Upon continued movement of the actuating lever 3! in a counter-clockwise direction, the arm 3|d 75 continues to rotate the plate 19 counter-ole cip-v on a downwardly extending lug I45a on each of the supporting shelves I45 is a lever I5I which carries a pin I53 extending loosely through an opening I55 in the hub I43. The pin I53 also has a reduced end which extends into an opening I51 in the hub I49, the opening !51 being of considerably larger diameter than the reduced end of the pin I53 and the pin I53 being in engagement with the upper portion of the opening I51, so that the hub I41 rests upon the pin. The supporting shelf I45 is formed with an opening I45 through which extends an adjustable, ball-tipped screw I59 threaded into the lever I5I, the extent of projection of the ball tip of the screw I59 through the opening I46 being determined by a set screw IBI which is also threaded into the lever I5I and bears against the lower surface of the shelf I45. When the separators I49 are caused to rotate relative to the shelves it is obvious that their hubs I 41 will ride up the pins I53 by virtue of the circular openings I51 therein, and thus the separators I49 will be raised slightly with respect to the supporting shelves I45. ing the screws I59, the levers II will be moved in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 14,

thereby also effecting an elevation of the separators I49 with respect to the shelves I45.

The oppositely extending arms 3Ie and 3If of the main actuating lever 3i carry pins I93 adjacent to their ends which are received in elongated slots I55 of a pair of slide bars I51. The slides I51 are formed with gear racks I89 which mesh With gears I1I formed on hubs I13, the hubs I13 being also formed with grooves which receive yoke members I15 secured to the slide bars I61 adjacent to their gear racks 9. The hubs I13 are formed with slots I11 at their upper ends for the reception of pins I19 extending through the posts I31. It will be obvious, therefore, that, upon rotation of the main actuating lever 3|, the slide bars I61 will be moved first in one direction, and then in the opposite direction, to correspondingly rotate the gears Ill and the posts I31 with the parts carried thereby.

During initial counter-clockwise movement of the main actuating lever 3|, and while the pickup is being raised from the record in the manner previously described, the pins I 93 move in the slots I65 to take up the play afforded thereby and without any effect upon the slide bars I91. By the time the pickup has been raised from the played record and at approximately the time when the lever arm 3id engages the pin 83, the pins I63 have reached the opposite ends of the slots I55 and the record supporting posts begin to rotate. As the posts rotate, the record supporting shelves M5 begin to slide under the lowermost record of the stack and the record separators I49 move toward the record stack, the knife edges I49a thereof seeking to enter between the lowermost record and the next upper one. The separators I49 are so adjusted with respect to the shelves I45 that the knife edges I49a thereof will engage the edge of the lowermost record. When this happens, further rotation of the separators !49 is temporarily prevented, but since the pins I53 continue to rotate with the hubs I43 and the posts I31, the pins I53 will cam theseparators I49 upwardly until the knife edges I49aare in a position to enter between the lowermost record of the stack and the next upper record, whereupon the separators I49 will slide in between the two lowermost records. Shortly thereafter, the trailing edges of the supporting shelves I45 (for example, the left-hand edge of the shelf 1451) in.

Also, by depress-' iii Fig. 13) will clear the lowermost record, thereby freeing it to be dropped'down along the spindle 9 which extends through the entire stack, and onto the previously played record on the turntable. If, as previously described, the released record is a 10" record, it will not strike the locating post III and the pickup will subsequently automatically come to rest at the starting position thereof. Eventually, when the main actuating lever 3| begins its clockwise rotation, its pins I63 will push the slide bars I91 back to the position shown in Fig. 1 and thereby return the posts I31 to their normal position, the separators I49 sliding away from under the then lowermost record so that the entire stack can drop down slightly onto the supporting shelves I45.

The screws I59 are so located with respect to the supporting shelves I that 10" records do not rest thereon. However, 12" records, which are usually thicker than 10" records, are of large enough diameter to engage the ball heads of the screws I59 and depress them. This causes the levers I5I to move in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 14, to thereby raise the separators I49 and thereby automatically compensate for the greater thickness of the 12" record next to be released. It will be noted, however, that the tops of the openings I51 in the hubs I41 still rest upon the pins I53 so that the action of the separators will still be the same as previously "described when attempting to enter between the then lowermost 12" record and the next higher record, regardless of whether the latter record is a 12" record or a 10 record. Upon being released from the stack in the manner previously described, the then lowermost l2". record will strike the locating post I I I in its descent toward the turntable, and the starting position of the pickup thereon will again be automatically de termined by the mechanism and in the manner previously set forth.

After the entire repertoire has been played,

' it is necessary to remove the accumulated records from the turntable. To make this possible, it is necessary to remove the supporting shelves I45 from their normal, record stack supporting position. To do this, it is merely necessary to. raise the posts I31 until their pins I19 clear the slots I11 in the bushings I13 and turn the posts through an angle such that the shelves I45 will clear the 12' records, thereby permitting removal of the accumulated records. Before next operating the machine, it is, of course, necessary to reset the posts to the position shown in Fig. 12 with their pins I19 back in the slots I11.

The weight of each of the hubs I 41 and the separators I49 is normally sufiicient to insure engagement of the upper portion of the opening I51 with the pin I53 so that the action previously described will be insured. However, to-further insure that this action will take place properly, a coil spring I8! may be placed around the upper end of the hub I41 and a C-washer or the like I 33 secured to the upper end of the post I 31. The spring I81 will then exert a force upon the hub I41 and thus press the latter against the pin I53. A cover I89, frictionally fitted onto the upper end of the hub I41, conceals the spring NH and associated'parts from view.

To effect the automatic cycle of operations heretofore described, there is provided a friction finger I85 fixed to a hub carried on the post 8|. A spring member I81 which comprises a pair of substantially parallel arms embracing the hub of the friction finger I85. to frictionally grip the same is secured to the plate 19, the frictional force applied by the clutch spring I81 to the hub ofthefriction finger being adjustable by means of a screw I89 (Fig. 12), so that the friction finger W and the plate I9 may assume-various angular positions with respect to each other. As the pickup arm 65 moves over the record and the plate i9 is moved in a counter-clockwise direction, it carries with it the friction finger I85, also in a counter-clockwise direction, until the free end of the finger I85 engages a pin I9I which extends through a cycle initiating pawl I93 pivoted to the under side of the plate II and restrained against free movement by a suitable leaf spring (not shown). The pin I'lll extends down into the path of movement of the arm 3 Ibof the actuating lever 3|, a shoulder I95 on the pawl I93 being adapted" to abut against a fixed pin 59: on the plate II to limit counter-clockwise rotation'ofthe pawl I93. The pawl" I93 is also formed with a forwardly extending arm I99 which terminates in a pair of angularly disposed faces that meet to form a knife edge.

Cooperating with the pawl I93 is a tripping member 2M pivoted on the upper face of the gear I! eccentricall; thereto and constantly urged in a clockwise direction by a spring 293. The tripping member 291- is provided with an upwardly extending trip 295 which terminates in a second knife edge adapted to cooperate-with either of the faces of the knife edge of the arm I99, depending upon whether the knife edge of the tripping member 291 slips by the knife edge of' the pawl I93 on the right or the left thereof, as viewed in Fig. 1.

When the free end of the friction finger I85 engages the pin I9I of the pawl I93, it imparts a clockwiserotation to the cycle initiating pawl I93 tending to bring its knife edge into line with the knife edge of the tripping member 2M as the tripping member rotates with the continuouslyrotating gear ll; During the timethat' the needle 65 is in engagement with the sound groove of a record, its forward advance across the record at each revolution thereof is so" slight that the pickuparm 61- causes the plate I9 and thefriction finger I85 to advance thepawl I93 a distance insufi'cient to dispose the right-hand face of its knife edge (as viewed in Fig. 1) in the pathof the knife edge of the tripping member 29?. The latter knife edge will, therefore, pass to theleft of the knife edge of the pawl I93 and the outer face of the trip 295 will engagethe-adjacent faceof the arm I99 to cam the pawl I93back slightly in a counter-clockwise direction; this being permitted by the plate 79 since it is only frictionally coupled to the finger I85. Thus, the angle between the plateIS and the friction finger I85 is gradually reduced.

The foregoing action takes place continuously until the needle 95 enters the terminal groove of the record, whereupon the pickup arm is advanced a greater distance in one revolution of the record than while the needle was in engagement with the sound groove. The pawl I93 is, therefore, also advanced a greater distance than normally and, in fact, is advanced to a point where the knife edge of the tripping member 2IJI passes to the rightof the knife edge on the pawl I93 on the next revolution of the gear ll. When this occurs, a furtherquick and'somewhat sudden clockwise rotation is imparted to the pawl I93 whereupon the downwardly extending portion of its pin IaI will engage the lever arm 3I'b' torotate'the actuating lever 3I in an initialcounterclockwise direction to initiate a cycle of auto matic operations. As a result of this initial counter-clockwise movement of the lever 3I', the cam follower 33 will be forced into the cam track 27 through the opening 23, and the automatic cycle of operations previously described will take place.

Before the next record is played, it is necessary'to reset the friction finger I with respect to the plate I9. For this purpose, a stop pin 291 is provided on the plate II against which the free end" of the friction finger I85 abuts when it is moved in a clockwise direction by the plate I 9 in response to actuation of the latter by the arm 31d of the actuating lever. Pivotally mounted on a post 299 on the plate II is a trip regulating plate 2H having a slot 2E3 therein for the reception of a pin 2 I5 on the plate I9. As the plate 39 turns clockwise in response to the lever arm 31d, the pin 2I5 forces the plate 2 around in a counter-clockwise direction to bring the edge 2!? thereof against a pin 2I9 on the friction finger I85. The friction finger I35 thus becomes locked against movement in either direction. When the plate I9 is later returned in' a. counter-clockwise direction, its pin 2I5, acting in the slot 2H3, rotates the regulating plate 21 I in a clockwise direction until its edge 2|! is moved" away from the pin ZI 9. Thereupon, the friction finger I35 moves with the plate I9, having: been preset to the required relation therewith. Continued movement of the pickup arm over the. record subsequently brings the friction finger into engagement with the pin I9I of the pawl I93 and the previously described action takes place. However, the pawl I93 must first also be reset, and this is accomplished by engagement of thearm 3Ia 0f the actuating lever with a pin 22I on the pawl I93 to rotate the latter in a counter-clockwise direction as the actuating lever 3I goes through the first half of the cycle.

Pivotally mounted on a post 223 on the plate II is an index plate 225 which has an upstanding pin 221 constituting a handle by which the index plate may be manipulated and which extends through an arcuate slot 229 in the plate I I'. By means of the index plate 225, the machine may be set (1) to automatically play either 10" records alone or 10" and 12" records mixed indiscriminately, (2) to automatically play 12" records alone, (3) to play one record at a time, any size up to 12", manually, or (4) to reject any record without having to wait for it to be played. Forthis purpose, the index plate 225 is provided with three notches 23I, 233, and 235 and with a cam edge 23?, a coil spring 239 which has one end fixed to the pivot post 223 and its other end fixed to a pin 2M on a pivoted lever 243 serving to hold the index plate in any position to which it is set manually by drawing the pin 2M into one or the other of the notches 23!, 233 or 235'.

When the index'plate 225 is set in the position marked Mixed, as shown in Fig. 1, the pin MI is engaged in the notch 235, and a pin 245 on the index plate 225 isin a position such that it is spaced from the toe Sla of the lever 87?. This leaves the lever 3? free to act as above described to permit locating the pickup arm on either a 10 record or a 12" record by engagement of its pin I35 with either the step IE9 or the step IZI, as above described.

If 10" records alone are stacked on the turntable, it is obvious that they will be played automatically' in succession asabove described by merely setting the index plate 225 to the "Mixed position. Similarly, if the records of the stack are mixed, this position of the index plate will likewise permit playing of the mixed records in appropriate manner. Since, however, the locating post III is always automatically reset for locating the pickup arm in the position, it is clear that, after the last record of the stack is played, it will be repeated from the 10" position. Thus, if the last record is a 12 record, it will not be repeated from the beginning. It is to insure the last record being repeated from the beginning that the notch 233 is provided, so that where the records in the stack are all 12" records, they will all be played from the 12" position, and the last record will itself be repeated from the very beginning.

When the index plate is moved to the 12 inch position, as shown in Fig. I, the pin 24I is drawn into the notch 233 by the spring 239 to hold the index plate in this position, and the pin 245 is brought into the path of the toe 81a. C'onsequently, when the lever 81 goes through the cycle above described, the toe 81a eventually engages the pin 245 which prevents further clockwise movement of the lever 81 and automatically sets it to return the pickup to the 12" starting position.

For playing individual records of any diameter up to 12" manually, the index plate 225 is moved to the manual position indicated by the mark M, as shown in Fig. 8. In this position, the pin 24! is drawn into the notch 23I by the spring 239, whereby the plate 225 is releasably locked in the desired position. When the machine is adjusted for manual playing, it is necessary that the trip pawl I 93 be rendered inoperative. For this purpose, there is pivoted on the post 209 a lever 249 formed adjacent one end with a cam edge 25I which terminates in an arcuate end 253, the lever 249 being also provided with a hook 255. A coil spring 251 which has one end fixed to a pin 259 on the plate I I and its other end secured to the hook 255 constantly biases the lever 249 in a clockwise direction and tends to move it into the position shown in Fig. 8, but it is prevented from doing so normally by a pin 26I on the index plate 225 which, in any other than manual position of the plate 225, is in engagement with the arcuate end 253. When, however, the index plate 225 is moved to the manual position shown in Fig. 8, the clockwise rotation of the index plate 225 carries the pin 25I beyond the end 253 and past the cam edge 25I into the position shown in Fig, 8, whereupon the spring 25'! becomes free to move the lever 249 into the position of Fig. 8. In this position, the finger 249a of the lever .249 engages the pin I 9| of the pawl I93 and positively holds it in a position such that the knife edge on the pawl 193 is entirely clear of the knife edge on the tripping member 291. Hence, the cycle initiating mechanism cannot become effective to initiate a cycle of automatic operations, and the machine will continue to play records one at a time manually, the needle 65 riding in the terminal groove of each record until manually removed therefrom.

For rejecting any record, the index plate 225 may be moved to the position marked R, as shown in Fig. 9. When moved to this position, the cam edge 23? of the index plate acts against the pin 24!, thereby expanding the spring 239, so that the latter Will automatically return the pin 24! into the notch 235 as soon, as the hamdle 221 is released. When the plate 225 is moved manually to the position shown in Fig. 9, a finger 263 extending from the plate 225 is brought into engagement with the pin I9I on the pawl I93 to move the pawl clockwise far enough to bring its knife edge slightly beyond the path of the knife edge on the tripping member 2IlI. Accordingly, the tripping member 2M will strike the pawl I93 to bring the pin I 9I against the lever arm 3Ib and thus initiate a cycle of automatic operations in the manner heretofore described.

Although we have shown and described our invention in considerable detail, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations thereof and changes in the particular embodiment disclosed are possible. We, therefore, desire that the foregoing shall be considered merely as illustrative and not as limiting.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an automatic phonograph, the combination of a turntable, means for supporting a vertical stack of records of different diameters above said turntable and for normally restraining movement of said stack toward said turntable, means for effecting release of successive lowermost records of said stack irrespective of the diameter thereof for transference thereof to said turntable, a sound reproducing device, and means for controlling the landing position of said sound reproducing device on each successively transferred record; said last means including a first pivoted member normally disposed in the path of movement of a large diameter record but clear of the path of movement of a, small diameter record during transference thereof whereby said small diameter records are ineffective to actuate said first pivoted member, said first pivoted member including a pair of stops, one stop corresponding to small diameter records and the other stop corresponding to large diameter records, means responsive to said first pivoted member comprising a second pivoted member coactive with said sound reproducing device and including an element for cooperation with one or the other of said stops, said first pivoted member being actuable only by a large diameter record during its transference to render said second pivoted member effective to locate said sound reproducing device at the beginning of only a large diameter rec- 0rd.

2. In an automatic phonograph, the combination of a turntable, means for supporting a vertical stack of records of different diameters above said turntable and for normally restrain- .ing movement of said stack toward said turntable, means for effecting release of successive lowermost records of said stack irrespective of the diameter thereof for transference thereof to said turntable, a sound reproducing device, and means for controlling the landing position of said sound reproducing device on each successifvely transferred record; last said means including a first pivoted member normally disposed in the path of movement of a small diam eter record during transference thereof whereby said small diameter records are ineffective to actuate said member, said pivoted member including a pair of stops, one stop corresponding to small diameter records and the other stop corresponding to large diameter records, means responsive to said first pivoted member comprising a second pivoted member coactive with said sound reproducing device and includasssme;

"ing an element. for coaction withone of said:

stops to normally; locate said sound. reproducing; device at the beginning: of a small diameter rec- 0rd, said first pivoted member being actuable by a large diameter record during its transference to engage said element of said second pivoted member with the other of said stops to locate said sound reproducing device at the beginning of said large diameter record, and preset operable means coactive with said second pivoted member for. rendering said pivoted member effective to successively automatically locate said sound reproducing device at the beginning of only large diameterirecords.

BENJAMIN R. CARSON. KNUT J. MAGNUSSON.

1 6 REFERENCES: QITED The following. references areof' record in the Number Name Date 1,968,927 Buckle? Aug. '7', 1934 2,0l7;898 Gates Oct. 22, 1935 2286390 Knox June 16, 1942' FOREIGN PATENTS Number (Jountr-y Date 452,415 Germany Nov; l0,v 1927' 510,949 Germany- Oct. 24, 1930- 

